Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Thursday China has deepened its influence campaigns and infiltration against the democratic island, pledging measures to tackle Beijing's efforts to "absorb" Taiwan.
Taiwan has accused China of stepping up military drills, trade sanctions and influence campaigns against the island in recent years to force the island to accept Chinese sovereignty claims.
Speaking to reporters after meeting senior security officials, Lai said Beijing had used Taiwan's democracy to "absorb" various members of society, including organised crime groups, media personalities, and current and former military and police officers.
"They (China) are carrying out activities such as division, destruction, and subversion from within us," Lai told a press briefing broadcast live from the presidential office.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office condemned Lai's remarks, warning that Beijing will take decisive measures if "Taiwan independence separatist forces" dare to cross the "red line."
"A stern warning to the Lai Ching-te administration: Those who play with fire will surely be burned, and those who forget their roots have never met a good end," the office's spokesperson Chen Binhua said in a statement.
When asked about Lai's comments at a regular press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that no matter what Lai's administration said, "it will not change the fact that Taiwan is part of China nor can it change the inevitable event of the reunification with the motherland."
Citing government data, Lai said 64 people were charged for Chinese espionage last year, three times more than in 2021. He said the majority of them were current or former military officials.
"Many are worried that our country, hard-earned freedom and democracy and prosperity will be lost bit by bit due to these influence campaigns and manipulation," he said.
By making these efforts, Lai said China constituted what Taiwan's Anti-Infiltration Act defined as "foreign hostile forces".
The president proposed 17 legal and economic countermeasures, including the strict review of Taiwan visits or residency applications by Chinese citizens, and proposals to resume the work of the military court.
Lai also said his government would make "necessary adjustments" to the flows of money, people and technology across the strait. He did not elaborate.
In addition, he said the government would issue "reminders" to Taiwanese actors and singers performing in China on their "statements and actions", a response to what Taipei sees as an ongoing Chinese campaign to pressure pop stars to make pro-Beijing comments.
"We have no choice but to take more active actions."
Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office said this week it was "entirely natural" for Taiwan people, including artists, to express their recognition of China amid a public outcry in Taiwan following posts on Chinese social media by several Taiwan celebrities calling the island "a province of China".
China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.
Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims and says only the island's people can decide their future.
